100 Percentile in CAT Exam; Know What 100 Percentile Means?

Senior Manager - Content

Updated on Dec 14, 2025 09:40 IST

100 percentile is a dream score in CAT. And it is not difficult to understand why. CAT 100 percentile means that you are not only eligible for the top IIMs, you are in a position to choose from the best MBA colleges – IIMs as well non-IIMs. Read below to know all about CAT percentile.

CAT score of 100 percentile is an ideal score but tough to achieve. On an average, only about 9-11 candidates score 100 percentile in CAT exam, out of over lakh test takers. So what does CAT 100 percentile mean? Read here.

100 percentile in CAT is a dream score. And it is not difficult to understand why. CAT 100 percentile means that you are not only eligible for the top IIMs, you are in a position to choose from the best MBA colleges – IIMs as well non-IIMs. Every year only a handful of candidates score 100 percentile, despite many getting extremely well raw scores. Now that CAT 2025 result is due anytime, it is time to understand what is actually 100 percentile in CAT.

So, what does 100 percentile in CAT mean? It means that a candidate has performed better than all of the other test takers (2.50 lakh+). It may or may not be only the performance, because if it were so, whoever got the highest CAT raw score would get 100 percentile, definitely. But it is not so, several other factors also matter. To explain further, it is a representation of the relative performance of a CAT candidate compared to other test takers. Similarly, if a candidate gets 99.99 percentile in CAT exam, then their performance is better than 99.99 percent candidates.

Latest: CAT 2025 result soon - live updates

Table of contents

What CAT percentile means? How to calculate?
How Many Candidates get 100 percentile in CAT?
100 Percentile in CAT Exam: Admission Chances
CAT 2025 Marks vs Percentile Estimation
Expected CAT Cut Offs 2025

What CAT percentile means? How to calculate?

To calculate every test taker’s CAT percentile, the examination authority, applies a formula. The CAT percentile of every candidate is calculated from their raw score. First of all, the raw scores of test takers across each session of the CAT exam are normalized to bring them on a common scale. The raw scores of the exam are then converted into percentile on the basis of the following formula:

P = (R/N) × 100

where,

P= Percentile score

R= Rank of the candidate arrived at on the basis of scaled CAT score or the total number of test takers ranking below a particular candidate.

N= Number of candidates who appeared in CAT exam (all three sessions)

Suppose, 1,000 people take CAT and once candidate scored 196 out of 198 (scaled score) and the rest 999 scored below 196. Then the CAT percentile of the candidate who got the highest raw score will be 999/1000*100 = 99.9.

How Many Candidates get 100 percentile in CAT?

On an average, about 9-11 candidates score 100 percentile in CAT every year. Most of the CAT 100 percentilers are from engineering background. Check here some data points:

In CAT 2024, the total number of 100 percentilers in 14, out of which 13 are from engineering background.
In CAT 2023, the total number of 100 percentilers was 14, out of which 11 were from engineering background.
In CAT 2022, a total of 11 candidates got 100 percentile, out of which 10 were from engineering background and 1 was from non-engineering background
In CAT 2021, a total of 9 candidates scored 100 percentile and all were from engineering background.
In CAT 2020 as well, 9 candidates had scored 100 percentile. Out of 9, only 1 candidate was from non-engineering background.
In CAT 2019, the number of 100 percentilers was 10. All candidates were males and belong to engineering or technical background.
In CAT 2018, the total number of CAT 100 percentilers was 11. All the 11 toppers are from engineering and technical backgrounds.

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100 Percentile in CAT Exam: Admission Chances

Candidates who score 100 percentile in CAT exam definitely get interview calls from the top IIMs – IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta. 100 percentile is the highest CAT cut offs for PI shortlisting for these IIMs, for General category students.

If CAT 100 percentilers have a good academic record and they perform well in the WAT-PI rounds, are sure to get the final call for admission. Candidates having 100 percentile can not only get the top IIMs but they can actually get any B-school they wish. Being the top rankers with a good profile, every B-Schools will be willing to accept their candidature happily.

Does CAT 100 percentile help in admission to foreign universities?

No, candidates will 100 percentile in CAT cannot apply to foreign universities as the exam score is not accepted internationally. CAT is a national level exam and accepted by only domestic institutions.

Also Read: Top 30 MBA colleges accepting CAT score

CAT 2025 Marks vs Percentile Estimation

Given below is the table indicating conversion of CAT score into CAT percentile. These CAT 2025 expected marks vs percentile arrived at by calculating number of correct attempts.

Percentile	VARC Score	DILR Score	QA Score	Overall
99.9	51	46	48	122
99.5	44	39	40	103
99	40	34	33	90
98	34	31	30	81
95	30	26	25	70
90	23	19	18	53
85	19	15	16	45
80	17	13	14	40
75	15	11	12	34

Expected CAT Cut Offs 2025

Check the below table indicating expected CAT cut offs 2025 for IIMs and other to MBA colleges in India.

B-Schools	*CAT cut offs 2025 (percentile)
IIM Ahmedabad	99-100
IIM Bangalore	99-100
IIM Calcutta	99
IIM Lucknow	97-98
IIM Indore	97-98
IIM Kozhikode	97-98
IIM Amritsar	95-96
IIM Nagpur	95-96
IIM Sambalpur	95-96
IIM Trichy	94-95
IIM Raipur	94-95
IIM Ranchi	94-95
IIM Kashipur	94-95
IIM Vizag	92-94
IIM Rohtak	92-94
IIM Udaipur	92-94
IIM Bodhgaya	92-94
IIM Shillong	90
IIM Sirmaur	90
IIM Jammu	90
IIM Mumbai	94
FMS, Delhi	98-99
IIFT Delhi	95-99
SPJIMR, Mumbai	95-99
IMT, Ghaziabad	95-97
JBIMS, Mumbai	96
MDI, Gurgaon	97-99
IMI, New Delhi	90
XIM, Bhubaneshwar	91
GIM Goa	85
K J Somaiya, Mumbai	86
TAPMI, Manipal	80
FORE, New Delhi	85
IFMR, Chennai	80
IRMA, Anand	80
MICA, Ahmedabad	80
LIBA, Chennai	70
XIME, Bangalore	70

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Q: What is the CAT cut off for admission to MBA programmes of IITs?

Check the table below for CAT cut offs for IITs, on the basis of which candidates are selected for their MBA programmes:

IIT	CAT Cut Offs
IIT Delhi	98 percentile
IIT Delhi	97percentile
IIT Bombay	98.5 percentile
IIT Kharagpur	90 percentile
IIT Roorkee	94.6 percentile
IIT Madras	96 percentile
IIT Kanpur	95 percentile
IIT-ISM Dhanbad	80 percentile

Q: What is the difference between qualifying CAT cut off and final CAT cut off?

Qualifying CAT cut off percentiles of an IIM is the minimum percentile (sectional as well as overall) required by candidates to be eligible for the Written Ability Test (What) and Personal Interview PI round. These are only eligibility score and not the score for selection. The final CAT cut off percentiles are the scores on the basis of which a candidate is actually selected for the What-PI round. The qualifying CAT cut offs are released publically before the CAT exam and result as a part of selection criteria for the MBA/PGP batch of that year. The qualifying cut offs for CAT are release category wise - General, NC/OBC. General-EWS, SC/ST, PwD. The qualifying cut offs percentiles of General category candidate is higher than then rest. The final CAT cut offs are not released publically. The cut offs are estimate on the basis of candidate's selection for What-PI. The final CAT cut offs for General category candidate is also higher than then rest.

Q: What is the average number of CAT 100 percentilers every year?

On an average, about 10-15 CAT aspirants score 100 percentile. Given below is the data of CAT 100 percentilers of last 3 years:

Exam year

CAT 100 percentilers

State wise numbers

CAT 2024

1- Andhra Pradesh
2- Delhi
1- Haryana
1-Kerala
5- Maharashtra
1- Odisha
1- Rajasthan
2- Telangana

CAT 2023

1 – Andhra Pradesh
1 - Delhi
1 – Gujarat
1 – Jammu & Kashmir
1 - Karnataka
1 - Kerala
4 – Maharashtra
1 – Tamil Nadu
2 - Telangana
1 - Uttar Pradesh

CAT 2022

2 - Delhi

1 - Gujarat

1 - Haryana

1 - Kerala

1 - Madhya Pradesh

2 - Maharashtra

2 - Telangana

1 - Uttar Pradesh

Q: Are CAT cut offs announced along with the CAT result?

CAT cutoffs are usually not announced with the CAT result. The CAT cutoffs are also not released to the public.

They are published after a few days of the result announcement when the IIMs and other colleges start their shortlisting process. The IIMs opens their shortlisting window based on the CAT cut-offs two to three days after the result announcement. The CAT percentile of candidates shortlisted for the Written Ability Test (WAT), Group Discussion (GD), and Personal Interview (PI) can be considered the cut-off for that IIM. For example, if a candidate with a CAT percentile of 99 belonging to the General category is selected for the WAT/GD-PI of IIM Calcutta, then the CAT cut-off for IIM Calcutta is 99 percentile. Only those candidates who make it to the WAT/GD-PI round of IIMs will get to know the cut-offs.

Q: What is the CAT exam cutoff required to get admission to IIM Bangalore?

The CAT cut offs for IIM Bangalore hovers between 97-100 percentile. The qualifying CAT cut off required for being eligible for IIM Bangalore's Written Ability test (What) and Personal Interview PI is 85 percentile for General category students, whereas for SC candidates, it is 70 percentile. For ST candidates, it is 65 percentile and for PwD candidates it is 60 percentile. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Bangalore.

General category: 80 VARC 75 DILR 75 Quantitative Aptitude 85 (Overall)
NC-OBC category: 75 VARC 65 DILR 65 Quantitative Aptitude 75 (Overall)
EWS category: 70 VARC 65 DILR 65 Quantitative Aptitude 75 (Overall)
SC category: 65 VARC 60 DILR 60 Quantitative Aptitude 70 (Overall)
ST category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 65 (Overall)
PwD category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall)

Q: What are the qualifying CAT cutoffs for all the IIMs?

Qualifying CAT cut off percentiles of Iims for Written Ability Test (What) and Personal Interview PI are listed below. Candidates who MET the qualifying CAT cut off, were eligible for What-PI round. These qualifying CAT cut offs are for General Category. The cut offs for Reserved category students are lower:

IIM Ahmedabad: 95 percentile
IIM Bangalore: 85 percentile
IIM Calcutta: 85 percentile
IIM Lucknow: 90 percentile
IIM Kozhikode: 85 percentile
IIM Indore: 90 percentile
IIM Udaipur: 93 percentile
IIM Shillong: 75 percentile
IIM Trichy: 93 percentile
IIM Visakhapatnam: 80 percentile
IIM Rohtak: 95 percentile
1IIM Nagpur: 85 percentile
IIM Jammu: 93 percentile
IIM Ranchi: 90 percentile
IIM Sirmaur: 92 percentile
IIM Bodhgaya: 93 percentile
IIM Sambalpur: 93 percentile
IIM Kashipur: 94 percentile
IIM Raipur: 93 percentile
IIM Amritsar: 90 percentile

For complete details of IIM selection and admission process read this article: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-shortlist-selection-admission-criteria-blogId-18787.

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